June 30, 2008

I am taking advantage of this year's unusual long mango season. In the past years (at least in the Washington, D.C. area) the Philippine-like variety of mangoes grown in Mexico were only available for a month just before the start of summer. This year they have been in stores for 2 months now and they're getting cheaper too. Although we prefer eating mangoes fresh without any added stuff, sauces, or flavoring, I once made them into a pie. The pie was just okay, nothing to rave about.

Last week I bought so much mangoes and they all ripened at the same time. I also have calamansi fruits *woohoo!* from my tree and combined the two to try if they will make a good fruit dessert without the extra carbs from a pie crust. Well, I love it! This is a very refreshing mango dessert and the subtle citrus flavor from the calamansi juice and rind is wonderful. Calamansi fruits are not available everywhere in the US, lime or key lime is an excellent substitute. The following recipe for each whole mango is just a guide, feel free to adjust the sugar to suit your taste. I also recommend using mango juice from the Philippines because it tastes better than the ones from the Latin countries which I find flowery. Use whatever mango juice is available in your area or your preference.

mangoes and calamansi would be the last thing I would think of combining but this looks so good and refreshing. My uncle has a calamansi tree and for sure the mangoes and mango juice will be found with little to no hardship. Will try this and see what the reaction would be. LOL

g, I too miss our mangoes specially the ones from Cebu and Zambales that no other mangoes from anywhere in the world can equal.:)

js, it's in a huge pot which I bring indoors during the winter. Having the fresh juice and rind makes a lot of difference in flavoring baked goods and leche flan.

Marvin, this is the second batch of fruits. The first fruiting was a loss because all 200 fruits, yes I counted them, except for 2 fell one by one. This time only about a handful dried up and the rest came out very healthy, maybe because I talked to them everyday begging them not to fall off and die.:D

Raissa, I used to squirt calamansi on ice cold ripe papaya and thought it also might pair well with mango. I really like it. It's slightly tangy and because calamansi has a mild flavor it does not overpower the taste of fruits.